1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication switching system including a switching network with at least one switching element having a plurality of input links and at least one output link, and processing means for calculating the total bandwidth used by virtual paths on said output link from individual bandwidth values contained in path setup cells used for setting up said virtual paths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such a communication switching system is already described in the PCT application No. PCT/EP88/00482. In this known switching system the total bandwidth used by the virtual paths on an output link is obtained by calculating the sum of the individual bandwidth values contained in the path setup cells for these paths. A new virtual path is allowed to be multiplexed on the output link only when the thus calculated total bandwidth is smaller than the maximum allowable bandwidth.
The thus calculated total bandwidth may be erroneous due to a fault, for instance because an individual bandwidth value is erroneous, or due to a calculation error, etc. Such a fault may give rise to a traffic overload on the output link or to an undue restriction of the traffic load on this link since the decision to allow or inhibit the multiplexing of a new virtual path on an output link is based on the thus calculated total bandwidth.